186 



MEDICAGO, Linn. 



Medicago sativa, Linn., Sp. PI. (1753), p. 778. 



Stems stout, erect, 1-2 ft. high, hollow, cylindrical with raised 

 lines. Leaves stalked ; leaflets elliptical-oblanceolate, ^-1^ in. long, 

 denticulate towards the apex, the central one inserted on the common 

 petiole above the others. Stipules lanceolate-subulate. Flowers -| in. 

 long, bluish- purple, more rarely yellowish, in axillary stalked 

 racemose heads, which are from f-1^ in. long. Pedicels shorter than 

 the calyx. Calyx with the teeth triangular-subulate, nearly equal, 

 longer than the tube. Standard longer than the calyx-teeth, and 

 exceeding the wings and keel. Mature pod rupturing the calyx, 

 olive-brown, forming a helix of about \ in. in diameter, and generally 

 making about %\ turns, pubescent with adpressed hairs and faintly 

 reticulated. Seeds yellowish-brown, rectangular-oval, smooth, dim, 

 with a deep depression at the hilum. Plant bright green, with 

 scattered adpressed pubescence (Syme, English Botany, iii. (1864) 

 p. 22). 



There are several forms. The var. turkestanica is so-called to dis- 

 tinguish the alfalfa found in Russian Turkestan and Central Asia 

 {see Hansen, U.S. Dept. Agric. Bureau PI. Industry, Bull. No. 150, 

 1909, p. 18). Peruvian Alfalfa has been described by Brand (I.e. 

 Bull. No. 118, 1907, p. 23) as Medicago sativa, Linn ; var. polia. It 

 can be distinguished by "the pubescence which covers the whole 

 plant, somewhat sparsely at the base, but becoming increasingly dense 

 in ascending, until at the top the plants are densely covered with 

 minute downy hairs." A field of the common form is of a typical 

 vivid green, while the Peruvian variety has a silvery grayish-green, 

 due not only to the hairiness of the plants, but also in part to the fact 

 that the veins of the leaves are almost white (I.e. p. 20). 



"Variegated Alfalfa" has been defined by Westgate to comprise 

 the progeny of the intermediate hybrid form of the ordinary alfalfa 

 M, sativa, with the hardy yellow-flowered alfalfas, M. falcata and 

 its allies of Eurasia (Westgate, U.S. Dept. Agric. Bureau PL Industry, 

 Bull. No. 169, 1910, p. 12). The widely varying forms under this 

 designation do not readily admit of botanical distinction. 



/^.—Parkinson, Theat. p. 1114, f. 1 ; Martyn, Fl. Rustica, t. 48 ; 

 Schuhkr. Handb. t. 212a ; Rousseau, La Botanique, t. 17 ; Lam. 

 Encycl. t. 612 ; Sowerby & Smith, English Bot. xxv. t. 1749 ; Baxter, 

 Brit. Bot. v. t. 329 ; Icon. PL Fl. Danicae, xiii. t. 2244 ; Syme, English 

 Bot. iii.t. 334; U.S. Dept. Agric. Rep. Bot. 1881-1882, t. 25 ; Clavaud, 

 FL Gironde, t. 10 ; f . 2A ; Pammel, U.S. Dept. Agric. Div. Asrrost. 

 Bull. No. 9, 1897, p. 16 ; Fairchild, U.S. Dept. Agric. Bureau PL 

 Industry, Bull. No. 23, 1902, t. 10 (roots compared with those of 

 Berseem — Trifolium alexandrinum) ; Rchb. Ic. FL Germ. t. 2111 ; 

 Cycl. Amer. Agric. ii. t. 5, and ff. 271-282 ; Brand, U.S. Dept. Agric. 

 Bureau PL Industry, Bull. No. 118, 1907, t. 3 (Peruvian Alfalfa) ; 

 Agric. Journ. India, 1909, tt. 33-35 ; Westgate, U.S. Dept. Agric. 

 Bureau PL Industry, Bull. No. 169, 1910, t. 1. 



Vernac. names. — Alfalfa ; Lucerne ; Provence Lucerne ; Arabian, 

 Persian, Turkestan, Siberian and Guaranda (Ecuador) Alfalfa or 

 Lucerne ; Oasis Alfalfa ; Purple Lucerne ; Burgundy Trefoil ; Horned 

 Clover ; Cultivated Medick. 



Probably native of Western Asia. Cultivated under established 

 conditions in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia. In 

 Europe, largely in Spain and the Mediterranean region. In Asia, 



